BONNYVILLE – Bonnylodge is a bustling place to be, from morning yoga and bingo to wonton making and seasonal painting in the evenings.
And no matter what time of the year you visit the lodge, the doors of residents’ rooms are likely to have elaborate decorations that either reflect themselves or follow a theme for a monthly decorating contest.
Resident Maggie Savary has already been a winner of the decorating contests a handful of times during the year-and-a-half she has lived at the Bonnylodge.
While Savary doesn’t keep track of her victories in seasonal décor, last Christmas she received one of the first-place prizes for her Christmas display.
“I do it because it’s a lot of fun for the others, but it’s a lot of fun for me too,” said Savary. “Everybody seems to be quite happy when you do something, everybody participates. They'll come and say nice things about it and look at it and have their own comments.”
With October’s decorating theme of “harvest and things we are thankful for,” many residents couldn’t resist sneaking in some skeletons, witches and Jack-O-Lanters along with their straw scarecrows.
Savary’s display was no different, she highlighted the best that the month of October has to offer and the collaborative spirit of harvest season.
For Savary, Halloween is something unique to her life in Canada. When she moved to Canada 54 years ago from South Africa with her husband, they thought Halloween was a festival. With two young children, the North American tradition was easy to embrace, she says.
But no matter the season or theme, Savary, with the help of her friends, always finds a way to create something beautiful to look at and enjoy. A task she couldn’t do on her own, she emphasized.
Getting ready for trick-or-treating season, 65 neatly tied bags of popcorn sit prominently outside her door. The popcorn was donated by Peter and Cindy Tercier, and was individually packaged by her neighbour, Clara Metcalfe, from across the hall.
A variety of 12 squash and fall vegetables, wild grasses, wheat and barley were also brought in by Savary’s friends to add to her seasonal display.
“All those things there, I haven’t spent a penny. It’s all donated,” she said.
When October comes to an end and residents prepare to decorate their doors in honour of Remembrance Day, Savary says the squash and root vegetables in her display with be donated to feed the birds and the horses of staff at the lodge.
Getting involved
Following a career of teaching elementary and junior high in Ardmore, it's no surprise that Savary fell into the groove of participating in a variety of activities at Bonnylodge.
After all, seasonal decorating was something she did with her kindergarten classes over the years.
But the experiences created, and activities organized by staff for residents make wanting to get involved an easy decision, says both Savary and Metcalfe.
Tammy White, who has worked at the lodge for 37 years as an activities coordinator, says the staff work hard to keep everybody happy, healthy and as involved as they can.
“When you walk in and people are laughing, you feel good. You feel good about coming into work,” White said. “You feel good about being here when people are friendly and happy. And even the residents they just come and join in.”
